Date: Mon, 22 Oct 2007 14:16:52 -0400
Reply-To: "Ahlgrim, Kevin" <kahlgrim@IUSB.EDU>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "Ahlgrim, Kevin" <kahlgrim@IUSB.EDU>
Subject: Re: towing a van?
In-Reply-To: <200710221755.l9MHtNbQ030951@kinison.uits.indiana.edu>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
Don,
Not sure if this will help but check out my towing a VW page at
www.vwtopia.com\towbar
It might give you some ideas since you already have a towbar.
I believe if you turn the key on and then off but leave the key in the
ignition switch the steering wheel will turn freely so you won't have to
disconnect the battery if you don't want to.
Kevin
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Date: Mon, 22 Oct 2007 07:19:46 -0700
From: Don Hanson <dhanson@GORGE.NET>
Subject: towing a van?
This is probably 'archived', but my dial-up (remember that?) internet
connection here in the back country of the northwest is so slow that
it'd
take all day to find it...So..
Any input on towing an 84 manual trans vanagon for a long trip? I
have a
couple of tow bars, one I used to tow a Datsun king cab pickup to La
Paz,
Baja behind a huge motor home...(I'll never drive one of those down Baja
Hwy
1 again!) and another lighter one I used to tow my Beetle around behind
my
F250 Ford 4X4. The Beetle-specific one is probably a little frail for
the
weight of the vanagon. The other was built to tow a full size pickup,
so
that would probably be best..but is there an anchor point of choice for
vanagon towing?
I have a set-up of lights that I string along the outside of the towed
vehicle, so wiring into the van's taillights is not a concern. Is there
a
way to block out the steering column/ignition lock? Or, should I just
disconnect the batteries and leave the key in the ignition like I used
to do
with the Datsun? (the Beetle had no steering lock)
I am contemplating taking the Vanagon along as a "tool trailer" this
winter when I head south from Oregon to the desert Southwest. About
1500
miles each way, hauling my carpentry tools so I can work a little while
I am
there for a few months...Since diesel fuel is coming up on $4 per
gallon,
I'll be trying to utilize my truck as a work vehicle now and towing the
Vanagon as a "tool trailer", then transferring the tools into the truck
for
work use. Once there, the van can resume it's function as
transportation
and camp vehicle.
Thanks,
Don Hanson
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